Hey guys, I have a 2001 LS and was wondering how important putting a 180deg thermostat in the car is. Ive done a fair amount of mods (see my signature) and was wondering if I needed one. The engine does tend to run a little hot, and I would have just bought one but I have no idea how to even begin putting one in. Every tutorial for the thermo is for the 3800, not my 3400. Oh and since were on a cooling topic, how bad is it if my brother filled up my coolant overflow tank past the full line? Anyway I can drain some out? (I was thinkin turkey baster lol)

Ryan

 

ryan, As far as the over fill your ok unless he did it to the top of the jug, The most that might happen is that if it happens to heat up enough it might leack some out of the jug on to the ground. SO just keep a eye on it Other wise your probbly good.

As far as how to do a T-stat,

Follow the upper Rad. hose to teh point of where it gose to the motor. undo that (called the Thermostat houseing) Then take out the T-stat.
Put the new one back in and a new gasket and your ready to go.

They are really one of the easiest things to do. Just becarfule not to over tighten the houseing so tha tyou dont crack it.
but get it snug enough to hold the fluids with out leaking.

From everthing i ahve ready is they tend to allow the montes to run a bit to warm so this is not going to hurt you in anyway Unless you live in Alska or the polar north and you like to have a really warm car in the winter this will not hurt you . It will however allow the car to run cooler and also cause the heater in your car to not produce as hot of air that it dose now.
but other wise i havent heard of any motor ever being hurt from runnign to cold.

 

thanks man, this is why I love this forum

 

yeah i have a 180* stat and yeah my heater isnt as hot as it was.. but its still plenty warm.... deff keeps the heat lower then with the facotry 195

 

Other than cooler heating and the slightest dip in gas milage (-0.3 mpg max) the 180 tstat is a good investment especially if you are running hot.

You haven't listed what state you live in, so I guess I would recommend that you do it especially if you live in the south. For Phoenix it is practically a must have item in my view.

 

I live in jersey, it gets super hot in the summer, and super cold in the winter. Is it ok to use it than? I also have the 3400, is it in the same place as the 3800?

 

Should be perfectly fine. I run a 180 in mine and I live in WI.

As far as location, I can't be positive, but all you need to do is follow the upper radiator hose until it connects to a sphere shaped housing. That will hold the T-stat.

 

see i came from Germany to Texas, so for me it was a no brainer and i have it sitting here to put in one of these days when i can actually think i will do it.
But here the heat is hot enough in the summers and warm enough in the winter that im not going to worry about loseing that extra heating ability.
Not to mention most of the time im turning the heat off after the car gets warm anyway as i get to hot.
but i am warm blooded anyway LOL

 

okay I could prob look it up and find out, but I know this is a popular mod for montes. What exactly does the 180thermo do? I don't get it exactly.

 

It lowers the engine temperature 15 degrees from the stock 195. It helps reduce KR (Knock Retard)which is basically the air/fuel mix in the cylinder igniting before the spark plug fires. KR causes engine damage and is more prevalent in forced induction applications such as superchargers and turbos.

Natural Aspiring cars really don't see this much, but will if they increase the compression ratio or if they run the car hard.